Straw in the Wind (6 page)

‘I'm sure I'll think of something to put him back in a good humour. Do I look presentable, Charlotte?'

‘When do you look anything less than perfect? I should hate you for that reason alone . . . not to mention all the other qualities you have.'

Indeed, Marianne looked exquisite in a dark-blue brocade gown with a lace collar. Her lace cap had blue ribbons. Blue ribbons and flowers decorated her hair, which was drawn into a bun. Dark, slender ringlets coiled down her jaw line to her collar and her eyes were a sparkling blue. No wonder Adam admired her and Nick adored her. She had a happy nature that attracted people.

Marianne skirted the back of the crowd, bestowing smiles on those who sought to catch her eye. She joined her husband from behind, whispering something in his ear before slipping her hand into his. His frown disappeared like magic when Marianne smiled at him, and he raised her hand to his lips then held her gaze for an intimate moment, looking as though he wanted to devour her.

Charlotte turned Celia's way, and murmured, ‘Take a lesson from my sister if you marry a difficult man . . . feed him honey.'

‘Is Mr Thornton difficult then?'

‘Not since he married Marianne,' Charlotte said with a smile. ‘Do you have a gentleman in your life, Celia?'

‘Nobody has ever showed the slightest interest in me so far, since I have no looks to speak of, or fortune. I doubt if I'll ever marry.'

Charlotte gave her a frank look. ‘I don't see why not. Daisy Phipps has recently married and she must be nearly twice your age. Also, she resembles a plucked chicken and you don't.'

Celia's quick burst of laughter at Charlotte's outrageous statement attracted Adam's attention, and he grinned at them both.

The sisters were lucky in their marriages, Celia thought, but she was lucky in having Adam for a brother.

The crowd parted to let someone through.

Charlotte's breath hissed through her teeth when a man patted Nick Thornton's shoulder and kissed Marianne's cheek.

Curiosity prompted Celia to ask, ‘Someone you know?'

‘Nick's uncle. Captain Erasmus Thornton.'

It would have been rude to ask a reason for the animosity in evidence, but Charlotte furnished her with one anyway. ‘We don't get on. If I don't tell you why, I imagine someone else will, but I warn you, it's a sore point with me. Marianne seems to live comfortably with it though. However, she's a nicer person than I'll ever be. Years ago Erasmus fell in love with my mother. She died giving birth to his child.'

Celia didn't allow her shock to show. ‘Oh . . . I'm so sorry. That must have been hard for you and Marianne . . . and the infant, of course.'

‘The child died too.' Astute eyes came her way. ‘I'm surprised Adam hasn't told you.'

‘He discusses his cases with me sometimes and asks for my opinion, but he rarely makes comment on the lives of those concerned.'

Charlotte quickly changed the subject. ‘Oh, look, here comes the mayor . . . let's go and join the men before the speeches start. I just hope they're not too pompous and long-winded.'

Erasmus Thornton was hoping the same. He'd come straight from his ship,
Daisy Jane
, and had left his first mate in charge of unloading the cargo.

Despite his previous opposition to Nick opening a shop, however grand, Erasmus was proud that his nephew had stuck to his plan and had achieved what he had. Nick had the right wife behind him too. Marianne was a little restless sometimes. Like her mother before her, she resembled a little wild pony.

Nick understood that she needed to be kept occupied. He was teaching her to sail the small sloop he'd bought, and when she sat at the window with her face turned towards the heath and she wore a wistful expression, Nick understood that, too, and he'd take her there where she could be at one with nature, leaving Alexander at Harbour House with his cousins.

She'd go out on the heath, taking Seth's stepson John with her if he was home, or so Nick had told him. She'd come back with armfuls of heather, pine needles in her hair, bare feet and a wide smile on her face.

Marianne adored Nick and she adored her son, and seeing them all together made Erasmus realize what he'd missed out on by not marrying. Nick had been right when he'd stopped earning his living from sailing the oceans.

Erasmus would have done the same for a woman he'd loved. But when Caroline Honeyman had died he'd lost his mind for a short time. He'd pushed himself, his crew and his ship almost beyond capacity in the mad turmoil of his grief until something brought him back to his senses . . . the fact that he had a nephew who needed his care and his guidance.

Uneasily, he remembered that he'd promised Marianne that he'd try and find out the truth. If the girl born to Caroline Honeyman was alive – as Marianne suspected – and if she proved to be his daughter, then he would have done her a great injustice by not providing for her. But it wouldn't be too late to redress that.

What if she proved to be George Honeyman's daughter?

Erasmus remembered George's voice as if he was standing next to him. The man had swallowed a skinful of brandy and had been swaying back and forth.

‘You took the woman who belonged to me, and you killed her. The infant was a Thornton, there was no doubt about it. She couldn't be allowed to live, so I waited until the midwife was gone then smothered her with a pillow.'

Closing his eyes on the anguish he felt, Erasmus thought: I must have fathered the child. George wouldn't have taken the life of his
own
child, and neither would he have taken her to the orphanage. George
must
have killed the infant. It had struck him then. Had George killed Caroline, too?

The burden of that knowledge had been hard to bear – too hard for George, who'd spent the next few years drinking himself to death. Erasmus had to live with his remorse as well as his suspicion, that his love for another man's wife had been the death of her, as well as their baby daughter.

Even now he found it hard to think of George Honeyman committing such a hideous act, and he couldn't bring himself to tell the sisters that their own father had confessed to killing the child. He doubted if Charlotte would believe it anyway.

It had been a long time since he'd come to terms with it, and longer still before he'd allowed himself to be persuaded that the infant might be alive, and that George had left her at the orphanage – not only to keep them apart but to punish him as well. Erasmus had never repeated what George had said to anyone.

When he opened his eyes it was to find that Adam Chapman had moved into his line of vision. There was the answer. The young man was a detective, and a very good one from what he'd heard. He'd try and get him alone and ask his advice.

A burst of clapping brought Erasmus out of his reverie. The ribbons were cut and the band began to play. After the ceremony, the band struck up a lively march and his foot was trampled on by Miss Stanhope who nearly pushed him out of the way as the surge of shoppers headed into the various departments, where salesmen and women were on hand to relieve them of their cash.

He cornered Adam Chapman and held out his hand. ‘My name is Erasmus Thornton. I'd like a private word if you've a moment, though it will have to be now because I need to get back to my ship.'

‘My pleasure, Captain Thornton. I'll walk back to the quay with you and we can talk on the way, then we won't be interrupted. I'll join you outside, after I've informed my sister of my whereabouts.'

He didn't keep Erasmus waiting long, saying when he returned, ‘Celia is just about to be taken on a conducted tour of the emporium by Marianne so there is no need to hurry.'

The young man listened without interruption as Erasmus briefly outlined the problem. It was hard to find the right words. When he did, stating them left a raw, aching void in his stomach, as if he'd ripped flesh from flesh.

‘So you want me to find out if the girl is alive or dead?'

He shrugged. ‘Aye, that's about it.'

‘After all these years, why do you want this?'

‘Marianne wants it. She's convinced that her sister is alive.'

There was a sceptical look in Adam's grey eyes. ‘So, you're doing it for Marianne. Trying to prove her wrong, perhaps?'

‘Hell, no! I'm hoping she'll be proved right and that George Honeyman . . . well, never mind.'

Chapman didn't seem to notice his slip. ‘Why then?'

‘Damn it man, why do you bloody well think? I loved her mother. If the infant was my daughter and she's still alive I might be able to do something for her.'

They strolled down High Street, Adam apparently deep in thought. Then he said, ‘You mentioned George Honeyman?'

‘Did I?'

‘You know you did. If there's anything further I need to know tell me, otherwise we're both wasting our time.'

Erasmus hesitated. ‘George was drunk at the time, and it would split the family apart if they found out.'

‘You've trusted me with this story so far, and I must know that I have your absolute honesty before I decide whether or not to involve myself in this. I'm discreet, and your secret will be safe in my hands.'

‘George told me that the infant had looked like a Thornton, and he'd smothered her with a pillow.'

Breath hissed between Adam's teeth.

‘After he told me that I began to wonder, and I couldn't get the thought out of my head . . . did he kill his wife, as well?'

‘And you didn't relate your suspicions to anyone in authority?'

‘I'd already done George enough damage, and I'm not in the habit of kicking a dog when it's down. I could have broken him entirely, but it wouldn't have made me feel better about myself or bring Caroline back. Then, there were the girls. Who would have looked after them? George was a bully and an indifferent father, but he was better than nothing. I kept a roof over their heads for all those years when he was drinking himself to death.'

‘You owned their house?'

‘And the business. I won the deeds in a poker game. George was reckless and going downhill fast. Better me than someone who would have sold the place from under them.'

‘If George told you he killed the infant, why do you believe differently now?'

‘I have no strong belief that she is alive, but if she is then my fears will prove to be unfounded. George wouldn't have killed Caroline and left the baby alive.'

‘Therefore your reasoning is that if the child is still alive, Caroline Honeyman is more likely to have died a natural death giving birth to it.'

‘That's my drift.'

Chapman frowned as his direct gaze engaged the brown eyes of Erasmus, and Erasmus found it hard to look away. His voice was quiet, but just as direct. ‘There's something you're not telling me.'

Erasmus gave a faintly, self-mocking smile, yet the hairs on the nape of his neck raised when he admitted, ‘Only because I'm superstitious and because it would be of no use to you, Mr Chapman.'

‘Allow me to decide that.'

He hesitated for just a moment then he sighed. ‘Marianne heard a whisper in the wind coming off the heath, and it told her the girl's name.'

‘And you don't believe it was a figment of her imagination.'

‘I believe Marianne when she said she heard what she did. She has strong . . .
instincts
.'

Chapman didn't as much as turn a hair. ‘A straw in the wind?'

‘I expected you to laugh and call it a nonsense.'

‘I discount nothing. You never know where seemingly nonsensical or unimportant details can lead. You're a surprising man, Captain Thornton.'

He shrugged. ‘You get to believe in instinct and signs when you spend your life at sea.'

‘I imagine you do. I might as well tell you that I don't want to jeopardize my relationship with either of the two families, or cause a further rift between you and them. This infant could prove to be a catalyst to cause further unrest within your family. If she still exists, as well as being a half-sister to Charlotte and Marianne she is possibly your daughter, a niece to your sister, a cousin to Nick and an aunt to the children of the family.'

‘You pick things up quickly, young man.'

Adam nodded. ‘Moreover, she will also be an adult now and may be perfectly happy with her lot in life. She might be married. She might be a whore. She might not want to know you or she might welcome you with open arms. Her situation, needs and wants will have to be taken into account, and you might end up disappointed. But as long as you realize that, if the other adults agree I'll take an extra day here and see what I can find out before I decide.'

Dismay closed wolf teeth around Erasmus's tough seaman's heart. He had not thought that far ahead. Perhaps it was a foolish idea and he should forget it. But he didn't want to disappoint Marianne. Then he realized he wouldn't have to, since her sister would do it for him. ‘Charlotte Hardy will never agree anyway.'

‘She will if it's put to her the right way. Better leave that to me. What did you say the name was that Marianne heard?'

‘I didn't, but it was Serafina,' he said.

‘V
ery well, Adam, since the others have agreed, I have little choice, unless I'm to suffer Marianne's reproachful looks and sighs for the rest of my life. And if Erasmus Thornton doesn't get your help, he'll simply hire someone else. Why didn't he ask me himself?'

‘Because he knew there would be an argument and you'd turn him down.'

Charlotte sighed. ‘I imagine I've given him enough reason to think that. At least I know you'll be discreet, Adam. Just don't ask me any questions.'

Adam didn't let his dismay show. ‘I was hoping to start off with you and Marianne. You must have memories of the night your mother died.'